Artillery Shell To Be Dedicated In Deadwood

November 10, 2012, 9:23 AM

DEADWOOD, SD -

A century-old artillery shell is being dedicated at a Deadwood park Saturday.

The shell was given to Deadwood in 1912 with the intention that it be placed in Gordon Memorial Park. But it was placed instead next to the bronze cannon at Deadwood Elementary School, where it sat for decades unnoticed until last spring.

City Archivist Mike Runge determined the shell was from the USS Maine, which was sunk in 1898 and helped start the Spanish-American War.

Once the shell was deemed inert by Ellsworth Air Force Base Explosive Ordnance Disposal, the city began the process of cleaning it up and preparing it for commemoration and preservation.

Deadwood was one of four communities in the nation to get a piece of the ship.